Unitary patent –introduction

A unitary patent is a ‘European patent with unitary effect’ which has been granted by the EPO under the rules and procedures of the EPC.

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UP ESTIMATOR

EU member states

Renewal fee to EPO

2023

System in force since

UPC

Single court

What is the UP?

European patent with unitary effect

A unitary patent is a ‘European patent with unitary effect’ granted by the EPO under the EPC, to which unitary effect is attributed for the territory of the participating member states at its proprietor’s request.

Broad and uniform territorial protection

The unitary patent offers broad and uniform territorial protection across all participating member states – automatically, without the need to validate in each individual country.

Better value for money

Provides better value for money and reduces both complexity and associated costs. Cost-effectiveness rises with the number of countries – usually four or more.

One renewal fee

The patent proprietor pays one renewal fee directly to the EPO in order to keep a patent in force in all member states. Only one fee, procedure, currency, and deadline.

What is the UPC?

The ‘Unified Patent Court’ is a single court with the power to issue decisions regarding infringements upon and the validity of existing EP rights and the new unitary patent right. Their decisions are valid across all contracting EU member states.

Decisions valid across all contracting EU member states

The UPC is a single court – decisions on infringement and validity are valid across all participating EU member states.

No parallel litigation needed

The ‘Unified Patent Court’ provides simpler, quicker, and more cost-effective judicial procedures – parties do not need to engage in parallel patent litigation in different member states.

Jurisdiction over UP and EP

Decisions taken by the ‘Unified Patent Court’ affect both unitary patents and traditional European patents (unless opted out).

What is the difference from the traditional EP?

Aspect	Traditional European patent	Unitary patent (UP)
Filing and formalities examination	Same EPO process	Same EPO process
Patent validation	Must be validated in selected EPC countries	Uniform protection in all member states
Translation costs	Required where applicable	No costs after end of transition period
Renewal fees	Must be paid in each validated country	Single fee paid to the EPO
Court jurisdiction	UPC or national courts	Only the UPC
Licence / transfer registration	Country-by-country national registers	Single EPO Unitary Patent Protection register

How does this change the patent landscape in Europe?

A unitary patent enables inventors (whether they are private individuals, companies, or institutions) to obtain uniform and broad territorial protection within the participating member states. Unlike the EP patent, the unitary patent does not need to be validated or renewed in each individual country after it has been granted. Instead, protection automatically comes into effect in the participating territories once the unitary patent has been granted by the EPO.

Only one renewal fee needs to be paid to the EPO. All infringement disputes are overseen by a single court (the ‘Unified Patent Court’). The unitary patent functions as a single patent which must be maintained, transferred, abandoned, or revoked as a whole. An opportunity to have instant patent protection in 18 EU countries would have a role to play within the patent landscape in Europe.

Unlike the present European patent system, patentees cannot select those jurisdictions for which they seek protection with a unitary patent (as it automatically covers all participating countries), and instead pay the cost for having a patent granted and maintained in all countries, even if protection in most of the member states is not needed.

Each patent case is individual and different.

Don’t know which way – UP or EP – to choose? Contact us.

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